


Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

by uniqlo_sweater



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, And a Skull He Likes To Talk To, Boy band AU, Boys Over Flowers au, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Dream High References, F/M, Inspired by K-Drama | Korean Drama, Kylo has a Burn Book, M/M, Mean Girls References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22061326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniqlo_sweater/pseuds/uniqlo_sweater
Summary: Rey has finally accomplished her dream of attending the prestigious Organa Performing Arts High School. However, everything changes once she gets on the bad side of the egotistical Kylo Ren, the most popular boy in school and the lead singer of The First Order.
Relationships: Finn & Armitage Hux, Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 116





	1. Welcome To The Black Parade

Rey gulped.

She knew there would be a lot of people at the auditions but she hadn’t anticipated the amount of media vans and reporters interspersed in the crowd of anxious teens. She stood outside the large black gates to Organa Performing Arts High School, trying to convince herself to take one step forward.

Was this a dream? She had dreamt of this day so many times thinking it would only ever remain a fantasy. Organa Performing Arts High School, or OPAHS for short, was the most prestigious performing arts high school in the country, perhaps even the world. Only the best of the best ever got in, but those who did had been promised with budding careers. The school had become well known for its successful alumni who had gone on to become household names. 

Rey’s dream of attending OPAHS had begun practically ten years ago, when she saw the school’s founder, Leia Organa, performing on TV. She was utterly enchanted by Leia, a classically trained singer. She’d never had much interest in music before that point in her life but found herself soon after consuming anything and everything that she could get her hands on that was related to Leia.

“Take a deep breathe,” she told herself, trying to calm her frantic nerves. “You deserve this, Rey. You’ve worked hard for this.”

And she had. She was only sixteen but had worked several jobs and babysat in order to pay for voice lessons. She’d spent the majority of her teenage years preparing for this day. And today she would finally be auditioning, and in front of her idol, Leia.

Rey felt a buzzing in her pocket and scooped out her phone anxiously to see a message from Finn, her childhood best friend. “Good luck today! Break a leg (but not really)!” he’d written. She smiled. Finn had been the one who had encouraged her to enter OPAHS. She remembered his audition day the year before, how nervous he had been.

She wished he could be there with her now, although they were in the same place. He’d told her the previous night he wouldn’t be able to come to her audition with her and Rey understood why. Recently his band had begun to garner international interest and the media was constantly following him and the other members around. She was proud of him, because it had always been his dream to become a professional drummer. 

“If you see me at school, it’s probably best if you ignore me,” Finn had said to her over the phone last night. Rey rolled over onto her side, squinting at the flyer Finn had given her of his band’s next show. “For now.”

“Why is that?” Rey asked, although she knew vaguely what he might say. She tried to make out the darkening silhouettes of the four men in the poster. 

“You’ll see why,” Finn sighed. She could hear him throwing darts in the background. “When you meet him. You’ll understand.”

Rey’s eyes fell on the tallest of the four silhouettes, her eyes focusing on the wispy waves of raven black hair. She could make out one eye on his shadowy face. A cold, calculating stare. She knew who Finn meant.

“And knowing you it won’t take long before you do meet him.”

\---

Rey made her way to register herself for her audition, practically beaming as they passed her her call number. She felt like she was floating on a cloud. Suddenly all her anxiety over the audition had melted away as she thought of having the chance to sing in front of her idol. To have a brief chance to finally reap the benefits of her years of hard work. Even if she didn’t pass the audition, Rey thought that at least she could die happy to have gotten this far.

“It’s F4!” someone suddenly shrieked and everyone around her began to frantically turn towards where the voice had come from. Rey didn’t register what was happening until someone jabbed her in the arm, causing her to drop the call number. Rey panicked as she immediately got on her knees to rescue the paper as people hurried all around her. Everyone began to stampede and Rey wondered if maybe her death was coming sooner rather than later.

Someone grabbed her by the arm and gently hauled her up. “Careful there! These people don’t give a shit what’ll happen to you if it means they’ll catch a glimpse of F4.”

Rey stared bewildered at the girl who had helped her. A pretty girl with jet black hair and straight across bangs smiled at her, her dark eyes twinkling. Rey recognized the uniform she was wearing to be the same as Finn’s and knew she must be an upperclassman. The girl glanced from Rey’s call number to her face. “You’re here for the auditions, right?”

“Who’s F4?” Rey asked, although she had an idea. 

The girl gestured towards where the crowd of people had gathered. Rey squinted at the flash of the cameras and the cries of teenage girls. She placed her hand over her eyes to get a clearer view. “You’re not a student here yet so you probably wouldn’t know,” the girl said. “F4 is our nickname for the boys of The First Order. They’re the hottest boys in school.”

“The First Order,” Rey muttered, before something clicked in her head that The First Order meant the band Finn was a part of. Rey and the girl moved closer to the crowd instinctively. Rey had been warned by Finn about the popularity of his band but she hadn’t thought of it to this extent. A part of her was amused by the idea of him being one of the hottest boys in school.

Someone had rolled out a red carpet as four young men strutted towards the crowd and the cameras. Rey thought that was a tad ridiculous and scoffed. Her jaw nearly dropped as she laid eyes on Finn removing his sunglasses as if in slow motion. It looked like a movie scene, the flashing lights serving as twinkles enveloping the handsome figures. Beside Finn stood an extremely handsome man that Rey had seen photos of on Finn’s instagram several times. In front of them was a rather tall and lithe young man, his perfectly smoothed back red hair making him appear like a gentleman from years ago. He didn’t smile at the crowd in the way the other two did, instead seemingly scanning the crowd. His distant gaze soon fell upon the fourth young man beside him, his lips curling into a small frown. Rey immediately recognized the black wavy hair.  
This was the guy Finn had warned her about.

Dressed in all black, he slowly tilted his head towards the crowd as someone screamed his name. Rey felt a shiver go down her back as he turned in her direction. A girl three feet away from her was calling his name. Although he was undoubtedly handsome, and there was something compelling about his dark eyes, Rey felt there was something… off about him. Perhaps it was the air of superiority that radiated off of him, but Rey thought it was more than that. For a brief second she felt his gaze flutter up to meet hers, their eyes locking. Rey felt immobilized. Before she could break eye contact he immediately looked away, turning his attention instead towards one of the girls who had approached him before his bodyguard could interfere.

“Kylo!” she chimed. Rey could hear the girl beside her sigh and shake her head. “Can I ask for your signature?”

The boy named Kylo stared at the girl wordlessly as she passed him a magazine with his face on it. Rey had seen that face many times on supermarkets shelves and on posters. She remembered when she told her coworkers at her waitressing job about her audition how they freaked out that she would get to go to the same high school as the Kylo Ren. It wasn’t until that moment that Rey even remembered he had a name. He’d always just seemed like an eerie shadow.

Kylo Ren reached out for the magazine, gingerly taking it in his hand. He briefly looked it over, as if he hadn’t seen the magazine at least a hundred times before. He smiled at the girl. Rey could tell it wasn’t a genuine smile at first, but suddenly that changed. It was the first time she felt something human emanate from him. “Sure.” he said, earning a judgemental glare from the red haired boy beside him.

“She’s lucky the media is watching,” the girl next to Rey said. “Normally he’d never do something like this. She’s going to have one hell of a time if she ends up passing the audition.”

“Why is that?” Rey asked.

She sighed and crossed her arms. “Kylo’s not exactly known for being… nice. Sure, everyone goes crazy over him, but there’s a dark side of him that not many people outside of school know about. You’ll see. It’s best to just avoid him. Pretty much everyone who’s pissed him off at some point has either dropped out or had worse happen.”

Rey was alarmed by what she was hearing. She watched as Kylo Ren smiled warmly at the girl. The four young men began to disappear into the crowd and away from the cameras. 

“I’m Rose, by the way,” the girl said, patting Rey on the shoulder. “Auditions should be starting soon so you might want to get back in line. What’s your name?”

“Rey, just Rey.”


	2. SING

Rey watched as one by one the people before her went in for their auditions. There was a screen that showed each audition as they happened but Rey decided she needed to meditate while she waited. Rose sat near her, having decided to tag along. “We don’t have classes today because of the auditions,” Rose had told her. “And sitting in the dorms all day is boring since we can’t even access the practice rooms. Besides, you might need the moral support.”

Rose was scrolling on her phone when she suddenly came across something that made her heart stop. She reached out to Rey and tugged on her sleeve. “Oh no. Rey, look at this.”

“What is it?” Rey asked, opening her eyes.

“Shit, they’re changing the judges for the next round of auditions.”

Rey frowned. “Who are they changing out?”

Rose slapped her hand against her own face and dragged it downwards, groaning. “They’re letting fucking Kylo Ren judge. What the hell, he’s still a student.”

“What?” Rey grabbed Rose’s phone. She felt her heart sink as she read the social media post Rose had shown her. Suddenly she had a very bad feeling about how her audition might go. 

She glanced up towards the large screen that everyone had been watching but the two of them. Her eyes widened as she saw Leia stand up to leave. “My dream,” she whispered. She could feel hot tears beginning to brim on her lashes but fought back the urge to cry. Now isn’t the time to let your emotions get the best of you, she told herself. 

“Number 253!”

Rose nudged her. “That’s you, isn’t it?”

Rey felt her disappointment melt away as panic overwhelmed her. She jumped up from her chair and raised her hand. “Yes, I’m Number 253!”  
\---  
Rose clucked her tongue as she sat nervously waiting for Rey’s audition to start. “Why did it have to be Kylo Ren of all people?” she said to herself. She dramatically fell backwards in her chair to press the back of her head against the wall and pretended to cry. “They should’ve chosen somebody else. They could’ve- why didn’t they-”

“They should have chose you?” a voice asked her suddenly from beside her. Rose jolted forward. Crouched beside her was Finn, having put his sunglasses back on. She calmed down when she realized it was him, putting a hand on her chest. He put a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet.

“What are you doing here?” Rose hissed, as Finn pointed to the big screen. 

“Same reason you’re probably here.”

“How long have you been sitting there?” Rose asked. She glanced around to make sure no one else had noticed he was there, but the room had mostly emptied out except for a few students and the remaining people left to audition. “I didn’t think any of you guys would be caught here alive.”

Finn perked up as Rey appeared on the screen, ignoring Rose. “Oh, I made it just in time.”

Rose turned to look at the screen and then back to him. “Do you know Rey?”

\---

Rey stood nervously on the small makeshift stage at the four judges in front of her. Two she recognized as popular musicians, another a current member of the staff. Yet her eyes immediately fell upon the fourth judge, sitting off to the left. Kylo Ren sat with his eyes pointed down, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but there. She wondered why they chose to have him judge the auditions. Kylo crossed his arms and inhaled deeply, staring at the paper that Rey presumed was her application. He shifted slightly in his seat before sneaking a glance at Rey and then down again.

What a weirdo, Rey thought to herself.

“Number 253,” said the judge to her left. “You can begin now.”

Rey forgot about Kylo Ren for a moment as the adrenaline set in. As the music started to play she closed her eyes and thought of how if she passed this audition she was one step closer to her dream. The song she had chosen was Edith Piaf’s Padam Padam. The judges appeared intrigued, their eyes perking as the song began to play. Even Kylo, who had hardly looked up this entire time was watching Rey with concentrated interest. Alongside voice and piano lessons, Rey had been studying French. She wasn’t sure how her song choice would be regarded by the judges but this was a song she felt confident in singing. Besides Leia’s music, Rey had always had a keen love for classic French chansons.

“Edith Piaf?” Finn had said to her the previous night. He was a bit surprised by her choice but mostly supportive. “Wow, you’re really going all in.”

“I think it’s a good choice, I don’t think many others will choose it.”

Rey guessed she was right as she sang, her voice resonating. The judges were watching her intently, some smiling as they nodded at each other. The judge next to Kylo swayed from side to side. Rey had to glance away from Kylo any time her eyes fell on him, as he didn’t seem capable of taking his eyes off of her. His gaze was piercing but there was a strange dreamlike feeling that had come over him as she sang. He was watching her as if he had been transported to another world, his lips slightly parted. He appeared to have stopped breathing, his shoulders stiffening with each “padam padam”.

The other judges began to jot notes as the song came to an end but Kylo refused to look away. Rey ignored him. She felt as if she was back on that imaginary cloud. The powerful emotion of the song had overtaken her entire body, the adrenaline of what she had just done making her crave to do more. She really did love singing, and she could feel the judges had also enjoyed her performance.

They began to slowly clap after the song ended. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead as she wiped it away with the back of her hand, breaking out into a nervous smile. Her knees nearly locked as the judges began to discuss their scores. She could hear her heart beating loudly.

Kylo never seemed to have looked away, still appearing in a trance. The other judges turned to him. “What did you think?” she heard them asking him, somewhat amused by his reaction. 

He sat back in his seat, life returning to him. He didn’t appear to be hearing what they were saying to him, and his face had grown pale. Rey wasn’t sure what was happening as Kylo stood up, placing a hand to his lips.

“If you would excuse me.” Kylo muttered before dashing out of the room. The other judges watched in confusion as he left, unsure of what had just happened. They glanced from Kylo disappearing out the door and to Rey, as the adrenaline she had felt coursing through her began to die. Had her singing offended him that badly that he felt like he had to leave?

“We’re sorry about that,” said a judge a few moments later, turning to her. Rey bit her lip to control her emotions. “He must be feeling unwell. We’ve come to a decision.”

\---

Rey emerged from the audition room as if in a dream. Rose dashed up to her to give her a hug. Rey was barely registering what was happening as she smiled slightly. 

“You did it, Rey! I’m so happy for you. I just had a feeling that you would pass.” Rose said, congratulating her. Rey put her arms absentmindedly around Rose and hugged her back. 

Rey felt relieved that she had passed, but she couldn’t stop thinking of how Kylo had suddenly run out of the room. She wondered where he had gone. Maybe he actually had been unwell, but Rey had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason why he’d vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've probably noticed that the chapter titles come from MCR songs (just fyi I'm not a huge MCR fan, I do like their music and there's going to be a reason why their songs and albums will be continuously mentioned throughout this fic lol). 
> 
> I wasn't sure what song to choose for Rey's audition since I wanted something very powerful and kind of old. I mostly listen to 80s music, K-pop and Japanese music, so... I do really like this song by Edith Piaf and remembered it at the last moment.
> 
> Anyway, hope y'all keep on enjoying. Things will progressively get less serious sounding from the next chapter onward.


	3. Famous Last Words

Rey emerged from the audition room as if in a dream. Rose dashed up to her to give her a hug. Rey was barely registering what was happening as she smiled slightly. 

“You did it, Rey! I’m so happy for you. I just had a feeling that you would pass.” Rose said, congratulating her. Rey put her arms absentmindedly around Rose and hugged her back. 

Rey felt relieved that she had passed, but she couldn’t stop thinking of how Kylo had suddenly run out of the room. She wondered where he had gone. Maybe he actually had been unwell, but Rey had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason why he’d vanished.

\---

“It feels a bit weird,” Rey said to Rose as she adjusted the stiff ribbon of her school uniform. It was her first time having to go to a school that required one and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Why did she have to wear the stupid ribbon? She wondered if she was allowed to take it off as she glanced at the other girls passing by to see how they wore their uniforms. “Do you really have to wear this every day?”

“Just for now, the uniform is mandatory for the first month and for tests and ceremonies,” Rose told her. They were sitting in the school cafeteria fiddling around with their lunches. Rose ate slowly but noticed Rey wasn’t touching her meal. “You live in the dorms too, right? You should eat now, they don’t let you sneak extra food into the dorms after dinner.”

“I’m moving in this weekend,” Rey said. There was another reason she wasn’t feeling hungry. It had been less than a week since she’d been accepted but she hadn’t been able to figure out why Kylo Ren had suddenly left the audition room. She wondered if she should have asked Finn, but if he knew the reason why he never let on. Since the audition had been broadcast for everyone to see, some students knew about Kylo leaving. She hadn’t run into him since school had started, or any of the other F4 members besides Finn. He’d told her they were preparing for an upcoming concert.

“That’s her,” she’d heard several students and even teachers whisper over the past week. “That’s the girl who-”

“Do you want to go get ice cream?” Rose’s voice broke through Rey’s thoughts. 

The two girls laughed as they ate their soft serve ice cream, walking across the large campus. Rey couldn’t remember the last time she’d done something like this with a friend. Until now, her life had mostly been about her part-time jobs or preparing to enter OPAHS. She used to go out with Finn now and then before he entered high school but that had become impossible once he became famous.

Rose chatted happily as she walked with her body facing Rey, before she accidentally rammed herself into someone behind her. Startled, Rose’s ice cream fell from her hand and onto that person’s shoe. Both girls stopped in their tracks.

“Oh, I’m so sorry-”

Abject horror came over Rose’s face as she turned to apologize. The person she’d run into was no one other than Kylo Ren. What luck, Rey thought. She’d managed to avoid him this entire time but now here he was, and with Rose’s ice cream on his shoe too.

Kylo stared emotionlessly at Rose as panic overcame her. Rey wasn’t sure why she was panicking. The other three F4 members trailed in from behind to see what the fuss was about. Finn was startled to see Rey, who was just as surprised to see him. A look of panic washed over him as well when he saw Rose standing in front of Kylo, as Kylo kicked the cone of the ice cream off of his shoe.

“I just had these cleaned,” Kylo said, but there was no emotion behind his voice. He glanced at Rey for a moment, and Rey sensed he wasn’t happy to see her either. 

“I’m so- so sorry, Kylo, I didn’t mean to-” Rose stammered.

“I guess there’s just one thing for you to do,” Kylo moved his foot towards Rose. He adjusted himself and said in a haughty voice, “Lick it.”

Rose stared at him, horrified. She didn’t seem to know what to do. Rey felt enraged that he could ask her to do something like that.

“Lick it.” Kylo repeated. The other three boys shuffled behind them. Finn looked like he wanted to interfere but he wasn’t sure how. None of them moved to stop Kylo.

Rey stepped forward in front of Rose. “That’s enough,” she barked at Kylo, anger coursing through her. “She already apologized, can’t you accept that instead of trying to humiliate her?”

Kylo was surprised that she was standing up to him. Finn was staring at Rey as if to tell her to stop talking. The red haired boy gave a small sly smirk in her direction, clearly amused that someone had the guts to talk back. Rey didn’t back down. 

“What?” Kylo half asked her, half scoffed. For a moment he didn’t seem to know what to say as he started to laugh out of what Rey could only presume was annoyance. “Ah, right, you’re new here so you probably don’t know this but,” Kylo edged closer to her but Rey stepped back. “If I ask you to do something, you do it.”

“That’s absurd,” Rey spat. She flushed red with anger as he tried to get in her face to intimidate her. “What gives you the right to order people around?”

Kylo scoffed again. “Well, if your friend isn’t going to do it, then how about you do it for her instead.”

Rey could barely believe what he was saying. She’d never met someone with so much nerve. Her eyes locked with Kylo’s, the familiar calculating glare of his nearly lifeless eyes revealing little emotion. 

“Lick it.” Kylo said, this time to her. His tone was almost pleasant instead of degrading. Rey felt disgusted but decided not to buckle. She didn’t break away from Kylo’s gaze as she moved to get on her knees. Rose gasped, unsure if she should stop her. Finn started to move to make Kylo stop but his friend held him back. 

Kylo continued to watch her, half smirking as she began to get on her knees. But at the last second before she made it look like she was going to obey him, Rey suddenly jolted backwards and kneed him in the groin. Kylo wasn’t expecting that as he fell to the ground in pain, his eyes widening. Rey took the ice cream she was holding and threw it at his face.

“You fucking psycho!” Kylo growled at her, rubbing the ice cream from his face. He was seething with anger. The red haired boy grinned and looked away to hide a chuckle. There was nothing Rose or Finn could do now to stop Kylo’s fury. Rey puffed out her chest, her hands forming into tight fists.   
Kylo scrambled to his feet. Rey stepped back but wasn’t afraid to deck him if he laid a hand on her. Kylo looked ready to take a swing at her but tried to stop his rage, his nostrils flaring. “You just wait,” he seethed, his teeth tightly clenched. “Your ass belongs to me now.”

Rey wasn’t exactly sure what to take away from what he’d just said to her. “My ass belongs to no one.” she hissed back. The anger must have gotten to his head that he suddenly was spitting whatever came to mind as an insult at her. She watched as he spun on his heel and stalked away. Other students had stopped to watch the dispute. The three other F4 members turned to follow Kylo, although Finn had to be dragged by them to catch up.

Rose looked ready to collapse. “Shit, Rey, you’ve really done it now.”


	4. The World Is Ugly (And It's All Kylo Ren's Fault)

Hux stood outside the door that led to the band’s secret den, smirking as he heard the sound of glass smashing. He opened the door and cleared his throat, “Having a little bit of a tantrum still, are we?”

Kylo glared at him from under his mop of raven hair. He was out of breath and holding a baseball bat. Hux wondered where he got that from. He scuttled sideways, not taking his eyes off of the bat in case Kylo decided to take his rage out on him. It wouldn’t be the first time. He made his way over to the corner of the room where he kept most of his things to make sure Kylo hadn’t damaged anything.

“Can you believe the way she talked to me?” Kylo was beside himself. Hux wondered if he was going to go on one of his usual rants to him as Kylo collapsed into a large black sofa. “I’ve never had anyone talk to me like that.”

“She seems interesting,” Hux shrugged. He was quite amused by how she handled the situation. Most people, himself included, would never talk to Kylo the way she had. He wondered where he’d seen the girl’s face before since she was a new student, and why Kylo knew who she was, until he remembered the audition day. “She’s that girl, right?”

Kylo ignored him, picking up a book he had hidden underneath the couch cushions. “Do you remember which song I sang for my audition last year?” he asked Hux.

“Careless Whisper,” Hux responded, totally deadpan. “Or maybe it was a Rihanna song.”

Hux’s greatest question was how in the hell Kylo got accepted to this school, never mind how he was chosen as the vocalist of his band. There was nothing particularly special about Kylo’s voice from what he had heard, and his audition had been somewhat of a comedical catastrophe. He wondered how that had been conveniently ignored by the media. 

“Why did you run out of the audition last week?” Hux asked, wondering if perhaps this time he might get a reaction out of Kylo. He couldn’t stop thinking about that day, and how no one was able to find Kylo for hours. 

“Mild food poisoning,” mumbled Kylo. He seemed preoccupied by the book he was writing furiously in. Hux frowned knowing he was lying.

“I’ve known you all of this time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you eat a single bite of anything,” Hux crossed his arms. He walked towards Kylo, skipping over the bits of shattered glass that lay on the floor from Kylo’s fit. He had his suspicious as to why he never saw Kylo eat, but Kylo had always waved his concerns off by saying he didn’t like to eat in front of others. “If I knew any better, I would think you were a vampire or something.”

Kylo didn’t say anything, but that was nothing new. He never seemed to react much to anything anyone said to him unless it went against his own interests. Selfish only began to scratch the surface of who Kylo was.

“That’s not how you spell that word.” Hux said, glancing at the book. Kylo hurriedly shut it and glared at Hux like a petulant child. Although he always looked like a child to Hux.

“Tomorrow should be fun,” Kylo said a moment later, his tone changing. He appeared to be plotting something that amused him greatly, the anger in his eyes having transformed into twisted delight. “It’s been awhile since we had a new target.”

“Don’t drag us into your weird antics,” sighed a dejected Poe as he entered the room with Finn. “Can’t you just let it go this one time- Why is there glass everywhere? Ren? Did you fucking smash my fucking-”

“I’m sorry, I’ll buy you a new one.”

\---

“I don’t know, Rey. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help you out of this mess.”

Rey sucked in her cheeks and sighed, half registering Finn’s distress over what had happened. “I can’t believe that psychopath called me a psycho.”

She and Finn had been video chatting for several hours. The majority of the time they sat in silence as Finn tried to think of how to resolve the situation. “No one’s ever stood up to Kylo Ren before. Just be careful tomorrow. Who knows what he has planned for you.”

“How did you end up in a band with that guy anyway?” Rey asked. She’d torn down the flyer she had taped to the wall of The First Order’s next show and rolled it into a ball. Her room was mostly in boxes since she was moving in two days. 

“It wasn’t my choice,” Finn lamented. “They needed a drummer so the school chose me.”

Rey vaguely remembered him having told her the band had been formed by the school. She wondered if she should uncrumple the flyer since it had been given to her by Finn, but decided against it.

“Just be careful, alright?” Finn added, his voice quivering with worry. A voice in the background called out sleepily to him to ask if he was going to sleep anytime soon. Rey recognized the voice as the bassist of Finn’s band, Poe. “I’ve gotta go, but if you need any help-”

“I’ll be fine.” Rey assured him. She hoped.

\---

As Rey walked to school the next day, she wondered what Kylo Ren could possibly do to her that would cause Finn to worry so much. She hadn’t talked to Rose since yesterday about the incident besides Rose sending her several messages to apologize. How could someone have so much control over others? Especially someone like Kylo.

Other students seemed to be watching Rey much more than they had previously. Rey wondered what rumours had spread now. Everyone quieted as she went to open her school locker, but Rey could feel them watching as if they were waiting for something to happen.

Rey was relieved when she opened her locker to see everything was as it normally was, except for one thing that drew her attention. A single red card had been taped to the inside of her locker door. Rey immediately ripped it off as the whispers changed to animalistic excitement. She rolled the piece of paper between her fingers but all it said was ‘F4’. She wondered how Kylo Ren had figured out her lock combination.

“Look, everyone! She has a red card!” shouted one of the boys. He rushed past everyone yelling the news down the hallway. Rey was beginning to become concerned based on the reaction of her peers but decided it was better to stay calm. She took the card and tore it down the middle before stamping on it with her foot. If Kylo wanted to mess with her, he would have to come and do that himself. 

Everything remained as normal. Every time Rey returned to her locker, she half expected for her textbooks to be ripped to shreds or for tacks to be in her gym shoes. However, nothing appeared to have been touched. Rey felt relieved. She could likely handle whatever else anyone threw at her but the cost of replacing all of her school books or her shoes would eat up too much of her meagre savings. She wondered if Kylo had ever had a job outside of his band but knew that wasn’t likely. Judging from the expensive look of his ice cream covered shoe yesterday he probably came from a wealthy family. 

The rest of her day remained largely Kylo-free, and she was beginning to wonder if there was anything she actually had to worry about. Lunchtime had been relatively stress free since she’d brought her own lunch, anticipating that someone might have tried to tamper with her school lunch. Although it was somewhat lonely to be eating alone in a secret corner of the campus, but she knew it was probably best to do this until she was sure that Kylo wasn’t going to pull something.

“I should’ve taken up martial arts when I was younger.” Rey mumbled as she bit into a sandwich. 

A familiar tune began to play. Rey perked up as she recognized the song someone was singing. It was the song she’d sung at her audition. Rey shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and peered around. No one seemed to be immediately around. How odd, she thought. It seemed too much of a coincidence for someone to be singing Padam Padam when she was the most sought after person currently on campus.

It was a man’s voice, and he half sung along to the song, half whistled it. As Rey glanced over the brick half wall, spotting a familiar tuft of black hair. She threw down her lunchbox and frowned, deciding to follow the person she presumed to be her harasser. As Rey snuck closer to the mysterious figure she heard snickering from above as the person slipped behind a corner of a building.

“Now!”

In hindsight, Rey thought, she should’ve expected as much. A bucket of dirty water poured over her head, soaking through her uniform. Rey shrieked. Above her from an open window she caught some of the upperclassman giggling as they disappeared back into the classroom. “Serves her right.” she heard one of them say. 

What did I do that was so wrong? Rey thought, but she knew there was nothing she had done that was wrong except piss off a spoiled rich brat.

“Great,” she muttered. “This is my only uniform, you jackasses.”

Somewhere off in the distance, Rey presumed Kylo was laughing to himself with glee. She knew the bucket of water being thrown on her was only the beginning.


	5. From Now On We Are Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for blood, I don't want anyone feeling queasy
> 
> Also I had wanted to stick with just MCR songs for chapter titles but I think I'm going to use songs that I think this Kylo likes to listen to in his spare time. The title of this chapter comes from a Fall Out Boy song. I haven't actually listened to it until now. lol

Finn and Poe sat across from each other at a cafe as Finn peered nervously out the window, watching people pass by. He was trying to desperately think of how he could help Rey. The First Order had a photo shoot today and were unable to attend classes, although at some point Kylo Ren had slipped off after they had finished. He wondered what Kylo had planned for Rey, checking his phone every five seconds to make sure she hadn’t texted him. He hadn’t heard from her since last night.

Poe appeared disaffected, sipping at his drink while engrossed in whatever he was reading on his phone. “Hey,” Poe interrupted the silence, not bothering to look up as he continued to scroll with his thumb. He bit down on the end of his straw as he spoke. “Did you know people write fanfiction about us?”

Finn’s shoulders fell in disappointment as he frowned at Poe, almost wishing he could strangle him. “Seriously, Poe? Is that what you’ve been doing this entire time?” he spoke flatly, annoyed. Poe glanced up at him, grinning while still having the end of the straw tightly clenched between his teeth. Finn ran his hands through his hair as he let out an exasperated sigh before feeling his phone vibrate.

‘Rey got a red card.’ the message flashed. Finn checked to see who had sent him the message and saw Rose’s name.

“Shit,” Finn said under his breath. It was already the end of the school day. He clamoured to his feet, “It’s starting.”

“Y’know, it’s nice to see someone finally stand up to The Prince of Darkness,” Poe chuckled, not needing an explanation for Finn’s obvious distress. He took a final gulp of his drink before getting up from his seat. “Except I thought it was gonna be one of us. God, every time I have to hear that whiny little bitch’s voice I seriously contemplate jumping out a window.”

Finn wasn’t in the mood for Poe’s delight at the situation. He knew Kylo Ren, knew what he was capable of. He closed his eyes as he remembered what had happened to the last student who had gotten on Kylo’s bad side. He felt like a coward, having not done anything to stop him. He was just one person, a terrifying one at that, but he was just a boy. He didn’t understand why no one spoke back to him, why everyone obeyed his every word as if he were a god. Even Hux, who showed clear disdain towards Kylo Ren and often taunted him, held great restraint in getting on his nerves. 

Was it because they were in a band together that he hadn’t tried to deck him before? Finn wasn’t sure. He just knew there was something- something very off- about Kylo that made him unable to do anything. He hated how helpless he felt, hated how if anything he appeared as an accomplice to Kylo given his position. An accomplice. That thought caused a heavy lump to grow in his throat. Rey was his friend, probably his only good friend except for Poe, and possibly Rose. He had encouraged her to go to this school, to the audition. He felt partially at fault for her ending up in this situation. He knew her too well to be someone who would bow to Kylo’s whims.

He balled his hands into tight fists, storming out of the cafe. “I’m going to stop this.” he choked back rage, as Poe quickly followed after him.

“You mean we are going to stop this.” Poe added, giving a wink as he strode in front of Poe. “C’mon, let’s go show Emperor Bitchbaby what we’re made of.”

\---

Rey was done with everything. The morning had sailed by without much issue, but since the end of the lunch hour she’d had a bucket of dirty water poured on her, her desk scribbled on with a hurling of insults-- slut, whore, “you never deserved to get into this school”--as well as her textbooks now strewn across campus, some tossed into the large fountain in the middle of the campus she had yet had time to admire. She sighed as she waded through the water picking up her belongings one by one, hearing students chuckle as they walked back.

She wondered if Kylo was watching her from somewhere, amused by the situation. Although it was annoying, and she didn’t quite enjoy the immature antics of her classmates in their attempt to bully her, it wasn’t as bad as she imagined. She was pissed that her books were now ruined and was determined to make Kylo pay her back. How much more damage could her classmates cause her? And how come the teachers did nothing in response? Rey had noticed the teachers seemed to shirk the entire thing off, ignoring her when they noticed her uniform was soaked through, and that she hadn’t even had a chair to sit in during class because someone had taken it and hid it.

What kind of person was Kylo Ren that he had this much control over everyone, even the adults? But Rey wasn’t going to let him win. She was determined. After she’d managed to grab all of her belongings she raced back to her locker to grab her gym clothes. Disappointment only awaited her as she saw that someone had gone and graffitied the same insults on her desk onto her locker door. She could see some kind of liquid seeping out and was almost afraid to open it to inspect what had happened. 

She heard laughter behind her, as her cheeks flushed with both anger and something else. She felt someone tap on her shoulder and was almost ready to punch them in the face until she saw Rose.

Rose held out a bag. “Here,” she said. She looked incredibly sad. “Wear this.”

“Rose,” Rey murmured her name. She reached out gratefully for the bag. “Thank you so much.”

“I’m so sorry, Rey,” Rose appeared on the verge of tears. She had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. “It’s all because of me that you got into this mess.”

“No, no, don’t say that,” Rey said, patting her on the shoulder. “I have a feeling even if I hadn’t interfered yesterday I would’ve ended up in this situation anyway. I’ll handle it, don’t worry about me.”

Rose dabbed at her eyes to hide the tears that were beginning to spill. “Still,” she mumbled. She glanced around, obviously worried about other students seeing them talk. Rey grabbed her shoulder affectionately and gave her a well-meaning smile, and Rose began to relax. “Give me your uniform and stuff after you change. I’ll clean it for you. I know a teacher who will help out-- if I ask him.”

Rey was a little surprised at that, considering none of the other teachers seemed concerned for her safety. “Alright, thanks, Rose.” She pondered which teacher it was that Rose trusted.

She went and changed and placed the wet uniform and her books into the bag Rose had given her. She added her cellphone, which had somehow survived the drenching, in the bag, afraid of what might happen to it. Several messages from Finn and a few missed calls flashed on the screen. She could guess why he was trying to contact her. She noticed two unknown numbers had also texted her.

‘Dw, we’re coming to kick some ass.’ Rey guessed that was probably Finn’s friend Poe. She wasn’t sure why she knew since they’d never had a single conversation before, but she wasn’t sure who else had her number besides Finn and now Rose.

‘Are you having fun yet?’ asked the other message. Rey almost felt like tossing the phone across the room. That one had to be from Kylo Ren.

Rey felt relieved she’d been able to change without interruption, handing the bag over to Rose. She sighed, “Thanks again. I’ll make sure to return this to you later.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Rose said. She seemed more chipper than before. She passed Rey another pair of shoes. “You might need these, too.” Rey took the shoes and smiled. Rose’s gym uniform was a little too large for her, her arms swimming in the sleeves that went past her wrists and nearly covered her entire hands.

The two girls parted ways, and for a moment Rey felt utterly alone. The school hallway was dimly lit with only the mid-afternoon light filtering in through the adjacent windows. Rey wondered what to do next, if she should go home or search out Kylo Ren herself and confront him.

She chucked off the wet shoes in favour of the pair Rose had given her, only to feet a sudden sharp pain shudder through her foot as she stepped into the right shoe. Rey let out a squeak of pain as she immediately removed her foot from the shoe to inspect what she’d stepped on. Bright red blood trickled from the shoe as a single tack was embedded in the bottom of her foot.

“Fuck,” Rey seethed as she fell to the floor, trying her best to quickly tug the tack out. Tears welled in her eyes, and for a moment she wondered if it was Rose who had put the tack in the shoe. Her heart sank at the thought, but she chose to give Rose the benefit of the doubt. After all, she presumed Rose might have become a target given her support earlier in the busy hallway.

She wondered what to do now, if she could make her way to the nurse’s office on her own. What would she say to the school nurse? Would anyone be willing to help her? Rey wasn’t sure. Her foot hurt too much for her to not do anything though, and she didn’t have her cellphone to contact Finn. Her annoyance turned to shame and pain, wanting this horrible day to be over already. 

Rey hobbled down the hallway, anger masking the pain, paying no mind to the students who gazed at her and giggled. She was going to make Kylo Ren pay.

“Oh my, what do we have here?” clucked an unfamiliar voice from behind her. It was the first time someone other than Rose had spoken to her directly all day.

She turned to see the red haired boy who she recognized from F4. He wasn’t looking so much at her as he was at her bleeding foot that she tried to hide. He glanced down the hall, noting the speckles of blood she’d left trailing behind her. “Well, that could turn into a health hazard.”

“What do you want?” Rey asked, contrite. She wasn’t sure if he had come to tease her or help her. Out of the four F4 boys, he was the one she didn’t know how she felt about yet. 

“Nothing,” he said, and she could tell he genuinely meant that as he shrugged his shoulders. He seemed more amused by his misfortune than anything. “Nothing, unless there’s something you want to ask of me.”

Rey wasn’t sure if she could trust him and frowned. “What?”

He raised his eyebrows somewhat and sucked in his already hollow cheeks. He wasn’t not handsome, but there was something mildly unpleasant about his pale face. “I could help you, if that’s what you want. No one is going to react if it’s me who helps you.”

Was she in the position to reject his offer? Although he made it sound as if he wanted her to beg him to do it. She contemplated leaving him there, annoyed by his reaction. He smirked as she winced with pain, and Rey decided she definitely did not like this guy. But he wasn’t Kylo Ren. “What do you want me-”

In a second, he lifted her up and put her tiny body over his shoulder. Rey wasn’t particularly heavy, so it didn’t exactly surprise her that he did so with ease. It did alarm her that he’d done so without asking her first, and she felt helpless as he carried her down the hall in this position. “What are you doing?! Put me down!”

“No, I don’t think so.” he whistled, ignoring her beating his back with her fists. Several students had come out to watch the commotion. Rey wondered what rumours would be started now.

“You-”

“Hux,” he said flatly. “And you are? I don’t think he ever did tell me your name.”

“Is this really the time for self introductions?” Rey asked, out of breath. She really just wanted today to be over with already. 

“Is this really the time to be complaining about a stranger helping you when you’re in this mess?” Hux clicked his tongue. Rey guessed he was right.

“Rey, my name is Rey.” Rey huffed. Why was he helping her?

Hux went to open the door to what Rey presumed was the nurse’s office. It was empty. “She must be out,” Hux said to himself. He moved to one of the beds and placed Rey there, although he more so tossed her down like a sack of potatoes instead of like an injured patient. Rey stared indignantly up at him but he was searching the room for something to clean the wound. “Stay still for a minute, will you?”

“Why are you helping me?” Rey asked, grimacing as he started to clean the wound. She almost kicked him with her other free foot but Hux stopped her, almost as if by reflex. 

“I’m not helping you,” Hux said to her, assuredly. “I don’t care what happens to you. But if there’s anyone who shares your hatred of Kylo Ren, it would be me. I have to say, you have some guts.”

Rey frowned. “Why are you letting him do this? Why does everyone let him have his way?”

Hux almost smiled at this, his lips remaining in a tight line. He pressed a bit of cotton into her wound, causing her to bite his lip in pain. “It’s easy for you to blame me for not stopping him when you don’t have to personally deal with his temper tantrums on a daily basis. Who do you think he enjoys tormenting when he has no one else to toy with, hmm?” He tightened a bandage around her foot as he spoke, locking eyes. “You haven’t experienced anything yet.”

Rey suddenly felt guilty for accusing him of doing nothing. She didn’t feel like that was a good enough reason not to stand up to Kylo Ren, but she felt some sort of sympathy for the boy. She hadn’t considered that someone else was Kylo’s personal punching bag. 

“I’m sorry,” Rey muttered. Hux gave a half grin at that but didn’t say anything. 

“Don’t apologize,” Hux shrugged. “And don’t trust anyone so easily. Kylo Ren’s word is basically law here.”

“What are you doing?” a cold, flat voice asked from the open doorway. Hux turned to the voice calmly, almost expectantly. 

“I was wondering when you were going to show up.” Hux hummed, standing up. Rey didn’t move. The second that voice had spoken it felt like her blood had turned to ice. In the doorway stood no one other than Kylo Ren, his arms crossed. He was staring annoyed at Hux, and Rey couldn’t tell what the other emotion was on his face. Disdain? Jealousy? Whatever it was, he was clearly not happy about Hux’s presence, even less so that they were together. Rey wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he was feeling.

Kylo turned his gaze to Rey, a wicked grin beginning to form. His expression made her want to vomit. He gestured to Hux to leave. “Go,” he muttered to him, his tone strained. “I’ll deal with you later.”

Hux slipped quietly out of the room, not even bothering to glance back at Rey. His work here was done. Rey wondered how Kylo knew they were here, where she was. Most of the students seemed to have gone home for the day or were busy with club activities. Kylo didn’t uncross his arms as he drew closer to her, his aura menacing. He was angry, but there was something else. He was staring at her foot, at the crude, impossibly tight bandaging job Hux had done.

Rey thought he would have taken delight in her newfound injury but instead he seemed perplexed. She pressed her back against the wall when he inched closer, confused as to what he wanted. They were all alone together, which made Rey uneasy.

“You’re hurt.” was all Kylo managed to mumble. 

“Yeah? And guess whose fault that is!” Rey hissed. If he moved any closer she would kick him.

His expression was conflicted. “What happened?” he asked, nearly reaching out to her. Rey dodged his touch.

“Why does it matter to you?” she asked, growing angrier. “Why do you care?”

Her words seemed to take him aback, as he had to seriously consider why he was reacting the way he was. Rey couldn’t read him at all. His face suddenly turned stern, his dark eyes serious. He was wearing eyeliner, his hair perfectly coiffed. Rey guessed he hadn’t spruced up for her. His eyes narrowed on her, uncontrollable anger coursing beneath thinly veiled serenity. “I care,” he spoke, the words coming out of his mouth like venom. “Because I’m the only one who can hurt you.”

Rey was confused. He reached out to grasp her ankle, his grip so tight she almost feared he might break her foot. In fact, she was sure that was what he might do. She lifted her other foot, catching him off guard, and kicked him square in the stomach. Kylo fell backwards, letting out a sound of distress as he slumped over on the floor. Rey jumped from the bed and began to run out of the room, or at least her best attempt at running.

“Wait!” Kylo growled after her. He tried to scramble to his feet while clutching his stomach. Rey stuck her tongue out at him as she disappeared out the door.

“You won’t get away with this!” his husky voice called after her into the darkening hallway, chasing after her like a shadowy hand ready to crush her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! 
> 
> I'm writing this off the top of my head so if there are any glaring mistakes please let me know. I'm not editing this currently at all. I felt like it was getting too long so I cut it off at the part I did.
> 
> Also, while I'm a native English speaker, I've been living in another country for over a year now and have found it incredibly hard to remember descriptive language (gg, me). lol I started writing this so I'd force myself to look up words I've forgotten and it's been a bit frustrating. But this project is kind of fun. I might go through and edit this series later when I have time. Right now, I'm just writing this for fun. I'm not actually a fan of Boys Over Flowers (I've seen both the Japanese and Korean versions, and read the manga as a teenager) but it's a fun storyline to use that I'm familiar with. I might write a more serious Star Wars fanfic later on using a different K-drama as an AU.


	6. New Perspective

It wasn’t the first time Rey had met someone like Kylo Ren. Someone so calculating, manipulative, and miserable with their lives. But it was her first time meeting someone who so easily influenced others that they would willingly hurt anyone to please that person. 

The front entrance of the building felt incredibly heavy as she forced it open, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt the cool air on her face. The hall had felt endless, and the pain in her foot made running feel impossible. She hobbled away from the building, wondering where she should go next. Suddenly she regretted leaving her cellphone in the bag she’d given to Rose. Where had she put the bag anyway?

Rey grimaced as she looked back at the building, at the blackened windows. Was Kylo Ren still following her? A sharp throb in her foot distracted her for a moment as she glanced down at the crude bandaging, noticing bright red beginning to bleed through. 

“Great, what next?”

Apparently Rey didn’t need to wait long for that answer, as she suddenly felt something crack on her head just above her ear. Stunned, she gingerly touched the area with her hand, staring at her fingers at the clear gooey substance as the liquid ran down her neck and over her shoulder. Someone called her name and she turned to face them, thinly laced anger in her reaction. A group of students she hadn’t noticed before were smirking at her, the person who had thrown the object at her holding a container of eggs.

“Really?” Rey asked, squinting at them as her shoulders fell. There was a mark of disbelief in her voice, as she couldn’t comprehend why they were doing this, why they would even want to. “Are you all insane? Why are you doing this?”

The boy holding the eggs grinned as he picked up another one and lightly threw it in the air to catch it. “Don’t you know what you’ve done?” he asked, and Rey was seriously considering slapping that grin off his face, her chest huffing. “You’ve upset the status quo. No one disobeys Kylo Ren here.”

“You’re nuts,” Rey seethed under her breath. She glanced around as the students began to circle her, half wondering where the man in question even was. He hadn’t come out of the building yet. “Why would you want to listen to a maniac like him anyway?”

Another egg pelted her in the face, hitting smack in the middle of her forehead. Rey’s shoulders tensed as she closed her eyes, biting her lip. She wiped the liquid out of her eyes and glared at the students who were now snickering at her. 

Before she could say anything else, she felt another egg thrown at the back of her head, and then another and another. Rey balled her hands into fists. 

“Is that the best you’ve got?” she yelled at them, their snickering growing louder. “Huh? C’mon, do more. You can do better than this!”

The students began to howl, egged on (ha) by her words. The gang of students started to enclose on her, throwing this and that. Rey wasn’t even sure what they were throwing at her now. At some point someone had taken a fire extinguisher and had decided to spray her with it. In a daze, Rey stepped backwards on her wounded foot before falling to the ground in pain. 

Why is no one stopping them? She wondered, crossing her arms to shield her face. Why was no one helping her? 

“Get away from her!” 

Rey opened her eyes. It wasn’t the voice she had expected to growl those words at her perpetrators, but it was all too familiar at the same time. She watched in a dumbfounded daze as Kylo Ren ripped through the crowd, punching and kicking people out of the way with such force she wondered if she was hallucinating. He took the fire extinguisher from the student who had sprayed her and beat him over the head with it. Rey flinched as the boy yelped in pain, falling to the ground. She wasn’t sure how to handle the display of violence from the very person who had commanded them to do it to her.

The students began to disperse, confused and silent as they backed away from Rey and Kylo. He stood in front of her for a moment, panting slightly. Rey stared into his frantic eyes, searching for an answer to why he was suddenly protecting her. She winced and put her arms up in defence as he leaned down beside her, afraid he might harm her next.

“Can you stand?” Kylo asked instead, which confused Rey more. His eyes had trailed down to her foot, noticing the gleam of red that shone through the bandaging. Rey tried to conceal the wound but whimpered as she moved, clenching her teeth as she tried to bare with the pain. Kylo took that as her answer to his question and put his arms around her.

Rey panicked. Why was he hugging her suddenly? She half debated biting his (oddly huge) bicep. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Rey almost snapped at him, but she felt too weak to argue with him over this. There was a panged sadness to the way he said those words to her, with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Rey fidgeted in his arms, unsure of what to do about the sudden closeness with her new enemy. “You’re sorry-”

Kylo wasn’t listening. He didn’t say much else as he maneuvered to lift her up in his large arms. Rey’s eyes were bulging in confusion, unable to look away from his solemn face. But Kylo wasn’t looking at her either. He carefully lifted her like she was nothing, and was carrying her away from the scene as if she were a princess, his arms enveloping her. Rey was mortified. She’d never been held in this way. She’d seen enough cheesy romance movies with Finn and had firmly decided she would gag if a man ever tried to princess carry her. 

“It just seems so,” Rey remembered a conversation she’d had with Finn after one of their movie nights. “So.. Oh, I can’t even think of the word. So, so… weak? It’s just not for me.”

Finn shrugged. “I dunno, Rey. Maybe you’ll change your mind someday, when you have a boyfriend?” Rey shuddered at that and Finn grinned. “What? Y’know, you always complain about grand romantic gestures in movies but maybe that’s what you secretly want.”

Rey smacked him with a pillow and Finn broke into laughter. “Ugh, gross! Why would I ever want that?”  
Rey was having a slight existential crisis as she continued to stare at Kylo Ren, her mouth still agape. She wanted to yell at him, to kick him away, but a part of her didn’t hate this. And Rey hated that. There was no reason for her to not completely hate this entire moment. She was too tired and in pain to fight against him now, but she couldn’t figure out why he had interfered in the first place. His expression was hardened as he marched across campus towards where a black car was parked. 

“Where are you taking me?” Rey weakly hissed, watching as men in black suits who she assumed must be his bodyguards nodded at Kylo. Their presence made her skin prickle with embarrassment as they opened the backdoor of the vehicle. Kylo didn’t respond to her questions, ducking into the car with Rey still held tightly against his chest. In fact, he held her tighter as he did, causing Rey to hold her breath as she pressed her head against where she could hear his heart beating loudly. Although he appeared completely calm, his heart was saying otherwise.

Kylo continued to hold her as he sat in the car, saying nothing to either her or the driver. He seemed afraid to let her go. The car began to pull away. Rey gritted her teeth at her strange saviour, furrowing her brow. 

Who are you? She wanted to ask, but she knew he probably wouldn’t have answered that either.

\---

Rey couldn’t remember when they’d arrived at the large mansion Kylo must call home.

At some point during their drive, Rey had fallen asleep. She wasn’t sure how she’d managed to do that given the situation she’d just been in. Perhaps it was the lull of Kylo’s frantic beating heart that had caused her to drift off but Rey couldn’t be sure. She didn’t want that to be the reason why. 

Someone had given her a fresh change of clothes (whose clothes were these?) and Kylo was helping her wash her hair despite her protests. Rey had stopped asking him why he was doing this, assuming he would tell her after. Maybe Kylo wasn’t even sure himself why he was. He roughly held a wet towel against her face to wipe away the remnants of runny eggs, causing Rey to try and push him away as she gurgled against the cloth.

“You could be more gentle.” muttered Rey, glaring up at him. Kylo was looking at her now. Rey wasn’t sure she liked the look of either pity or concern in his dark eyes as he gazed into hers.

Or maybe it was regret.  
Kylo forced her to sit in a chair as he unwrapped the bandage from her foot, frowning. Rey allowed him, crossing her arms. She wondered how Finn would react if he knew where she was right now. She was really regretting leaving her phone behind now, stuck with the formidable and overbearing presence of Kylo who refused to speak to her.

“He did a shit job.” Kylo finally broke the awkward weighing silence, his voice completely monotone. Rey wondered if he really should be scrutinizing bandaging job Hux had done.

“Well, this wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for-” Rey scoffed, but stopped herself as Kylo’s eyes flickered up to lock with hers. Her lips formed into a tight line. She glanced away, afraid of how he might respond next.

But Kylo didn’t say anything in retort, instead resuming to caring for her wound. She felt a sharp sting as he dabbed a cotton ball with alcohol against her foot, almost kicking him in reflex. Kylo grabbed her leg to stop her.

Rey’s face flushed. If she hadn’t liked the princess carry, she definitely wasn’t enjoying this. She disliked the way he was caring for her. That fact remained. But a part of her had begun to feel… somewhat soft for this boy. He seemed much less threatening and maniacal now, the person she’d seen before having seemingly melted away. It confused her. She’d met many people, but rarely had witnessed someone who went so easily between two personas. Who are you? She wondered again, the words now at the tip of her tongue.

Kylo was much better at bandaging her foot than Hux had been, Rey had to admit that. 

Suddenly Rey remembered the conversation they’d had in the infirmary, and the look of concern Kylo had had there.

“Because I’m the only one who can hurt you.”

Rey hadn’t realized she’d repeated those words out loud until it was a tad too late. Kylo was almost finished bandaging up her foot, apparently woken from whatever daze he was also in by the sound of her voice repeating what he’d said earlier. He didn’t look her in the eyes as he moved slightly backwards, contemplating for a moment how he should respond.

“Yes, that’s right.” he nearly whispered, the words crackling at the back of his throat. 

“Is that why you apologized?” Rey asked, her ears burning a little at the top. There was an odd sensation in her stomach as it churned.  
Kylo’s thoughts trailed off as there was a knock at the door, turned to face it. He said nothing as a bodyguard entered the room. “Sir, there’s a Mr. Finn and Mr. Poe waiting downstairs for you.”

Kylo almost rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath. “I’ll come down after I’m finished.”

“Sir, your uncle,” Kylo was glaring at him now, causing the bodyguard to gulp. “Your uncle came with them, sir.”

“What the hell does he want?” Kylo raked a hand through his hair, and Rey felt the person she had just seen begin to disappear again, replaced by the Kylo she had first met. “Alright, tell them to wait. We’re almost finished.”

The bodyguard nodded and closed the door, leaving Kylo and Rey in heavy silence again. Kylo sighed as he resumed bandaging her.

“I don’t get it,” Rey broke the silence this time. Kylo didn’t react, seeming to have expected her to say what was coming next. “You’re confusing me.”

Kylo gave a half smirk, his gaze still downcast. “Well, it’s not like you really know me anyway, either.”

For some odd reason, those words hit Rey harder than any of the eggs she’d been pelted with earlier. For the first time, Rey was feeling conflicted about a person, and how to deal with this new perspective of someone she knew she should loathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, sorry this took me a lot longer to add another chapter of than expected because of work and traveling n shit. This also isn't really written the way I want it to but I'm thinking of tweaking this fic later on.


	7. Sincerity is Scary

Kylo took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door, unsure what sort of wrath he would be subjected to once he entered the room where they were waiting for him. He’d told Rey to wait upstairs, and oddly she hadn’t argued like he thought she might. He knew he was acting weird. 

“What exactly are you doing, Kylo?” he muttered to himself, pinching his temple as he rubbed it contemplatively. He rested the palm of his other hand against the door, hearing voices in the next room. His stomach churned when he heard the unmistakable sound of his uncle’s voice as he chatted with the two boys.

Kylo closed his eyes and opened the door without allowing himself to dwell anymore on whether he should or shouldn’t. “Hello, everyone. I hope I haven’t kept you long.”

He half expected someone to throw something at him, but instead when he opened his eyes and peered at the trio they were staring slightly bewildered at him. His uncle was the first to stand up, his name on his lips. Kylo cringed when he heard him say a name he hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Ben,” his uncle said. The other two boys glanced in his direction, confused.

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that anymore?” Kylo mumbled, sticking his hands into his pockets. He was beginning to feel annoyed.

His eyes fell upon Finn first, who definitely looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. Kylo quickly averted his gaze from him, knowing now wasn’t the time to start anything. Poe had his arm held out in front of Finn protectively. 

“Where’s Rey?” Finn snapped at him. Kylo pulled a hand from his pocket and begrudgingly dragged his fingers through his hair as he sucked in his cheeks.

“Upstairs,” he muttered. Poe was glaring at him. “She’s alright.”

“Well, she’d be a lot better if it wasn’t for you-”

“This is getting out of hand,” his uncle interrupted, crossing his arms. Kylo couldn’t bring himself to look him in the eye. Couldn’t bare the judgement and disappointment. The fear. “Even for you. I know I’ve turned a blind eye to a lot in the past, but you can’t keep doing this stuff to people, Ben.”

“I told you not to call me that-”

He could feel his temper rising, trying to calm himself. It was taking everything in him not to allow the anger to overflow. He knew they had every right to be upset with him. Yet a part of him couldn’t accept that.

Luckily, his uncle seemed to notice and turned to the two boys. “I think it’s best if you guys left now. I’ll make sure Rey gets home safely.”

Finn’s eyes fell to the floor, perplexed. “No, I need to see her. I need to know she’s okay.”

“I’m okay.” chimed a voice from behind Kylo. He hadn’t heard the door creak open. Rey hobbled out into the room, somewhat embarrassed.

“Rey!” shouted the two boys.

“I told you to wait in the room.” Kylo asked, slightly bewildered. He blinked his eyes a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly and wasn’t hallucinating.

Rey rolled her eyes at him. “With all the noise you guys are making down here? No way.”

Kylo felt conflicted by her presence. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach he’d never experienced before every time he saw her. A part of him knew now that she was down here that it would mean she would leave soon. He had hoped to be able to take her home, to spend a second longer with her. He wasn’t sure why he wanted that. Just yesterday he’d wanted her head on a pitchfork, although he wasn’t sure why he wanted that either. Something about her both terrified and fascinated him. And there was the way she smelled, too.

Finn broke forward to embrace her, and Kylo felt a different emotion twisting inside of him, his body going rigid. It felt like his blood had turned to ice and then to fire, his brow furrowing as he thought to push them apart. Poe was standing just behind the two friends as they hugged, noting the changes in Kylo’s expression wonderingly. Kylo tried to turn away, afraid that Poe had sensed something about him that he wasn’t quite ready to admit. Poe admittedly wasn’t the smartest person Kylo had met, but he knew he was quick to pick up on things that others might not notice.

“Really, Finn, I’m fine.” Rey gave a little laugh, guilt seering through Kylo’s gut as he glanced at her smile. He knew she had been anything but fine until less than an hour ago. Rey’s eyes darted over to meet his for a second before returning to Finn.

His uncle cleared his throat, stepping into the mix. Kylo felt himself begin to try and shrink away. The man thrust out a bag towards Rey, who wasn’t quite sure what it was. 

“Rose said this was yours,” the man said, as Rey’s eyes filled with recognition and surprise. “Your phone kept going off though, think I managed to put it on silent. Sorry if I read any of your messages.”

“How did you-” Rey wondered, grabbed the bag gingerly. Kylo was trying to remember who Rose was. “Are you the teacher she mentioned?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Rey smiled and thanked him. Kylo felt a tinge of jealousy in never having heard those words from her, although he understood why. A part of him had still hoped.

“I’ll take you home,” his uncle said to her. Rey had seemed to perk up, Kylo still noticing the slight limp she had because of the injury. Another wave of guilt coursed through him. She had come downstairs in bare feet, and his uncle hadn’t failed to notice the bandaging. “I doubt you can make it home on your own in that condition.”

Rey tucked a strand of hair behind her hair, appearing to half contemplate rejecting his offer out of politeness. “Thank you.” she mumbled instead. Kylo frowned.

And in an instance, she was gone. Finn followed her and his uncle out the door. Only Poe remained in the room now, watching as they left.

He turned to Kylo instantly, scowling. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“I’m not in the mood.” Kylo glowered at him.

“Yeah? Well, I don’t give a shit.” Poe fired back. Both refused to break eye contact as they glared at one another. Poe was a good few inches shorter than Kylo, but he never allowed himself to feel intimidated by the other teen. Out of the trio Kylo found he spent the most time with, Poe was the most likely to snap back. He was sort of like a chihuahua on steroids, and Kylo half expected him to bite him most days. Poe seemed like a biter.

“Can we do this some other time?” Kylo raised his chin, trying to assert himself. Poe’s expression turned flat.

“God, you’re such a little bitch,” Poe rolled his eyes, turning to walk away. “You’re like talking to a wall sometimes. What’s the point of even trying to reason with you? It’s not like you’ll listen anyway.”

Kylo was used to people reacting this way. He knew they had their reasons. He knew it was partly his fault. Mostly his fault. He could feel the guilt still in his stomach, eating away at him from the inside. He knew what he had done was wrong. It wasn’t the first time he’d terrorized someone to this point, or that his classmates had harassed on his part. But it was the first time he’d done this to someone who mattered to people he knew. The first time he saw how his actions affected others.

Something whispered to him inside, but he refused to listen to the little voice that spoke. Instead he shut his eyes, his head beginning to pound as the weight of his decisions crushed down on him. He’d deal with this tomorrow, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is The 1975's Sincerity is Scary. I feel like they're a band this Kylo would secretly listen to. lol
> 
> Wrote this to distract myself from my students' upcoming graduation.


	8. Complicated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to post another chapter, I caught a bad cold and I've been working.
> 
> Title of the chapter comes from Avril Lavigne's Complicated, a song that Kylo Ren definitely sings in the shower while crying secretly.

“Thanks for everything, Mr. Skywalker.” Finn flashed a relieved smile at Kylo’s uncle who merely gave a nonchalant shrug in response.

“No worries, Finn. Sorry for all the trouble my naughty nephew caused.” the older man half chuckled. He opened the passenger door for Rey, who nodded in thanks to him before slipping inside. She was feeling a bit dazed after everything she’d experienced today, and the fatigue was beginning to hit her.

She turned to look at Finn, “I’ll call you once I get home.” Finn nodded in response, waving as the two drove off into the distance.

Finn kept watch on the car until he could no longer see it, his shoulders finally dropping as he sighed. The sun was hanging low in the sky beyond them, a brilliant red colour melting with fading light blue. He shuffled a few rocks at his feet with the side of his shoe, thinking deeply about something.

He’d known Rey since they were children. He knew everything there was to know about her, about her family situation, living in foster care, about the constant bullying she’d endured as a child. He closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly as a memory he didn’t want to remember began to reappear. Finn pinched his nose as his chest heaved, although he was soon pulled back into reality when a familiar hand touched his shoulder.

“How many years do you think they’ll put me away for if I kill him one of these days?” Poe was rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his free hand, half smirking as he spoke. There was a hint of aggravation in his tone which Finn didn’t miss. Poe didn’t appear to miss the expression on Finn’s face either, his own smug expression turning to concern. “Hey, you okay?”

Finn pursed his lips and thought for a second he should lie, but instead he shook his head. Besides Rey, Poe was the only other genuine friend he felt he had. And lying to Poe never went well. “I just feel pathetic.”

Poe’s face fell, his huge dark eyes revealing an emotion that Finn was never comfortable with acknowledging. He felt Poe’s arm suddenly wrap around his shoulders, his hand clutching him tightly. 

“Don’t say things like that, dude,” Poe assured him, his voice soft. Finn hated when Poe spoke to him this way. He hated the conscious feeling of Poe’s touch, his eyes flickering to where Poe’s hand had settled, his fingers gripping into the thin fabric of his hoodie. “C’mon,” Poe perked a little. “Let’s go have some fun. We can deal with Crybaby Overlord tomorrow.”

“We have reading to do for class tomorrow.” mumbled Finn, trying to take himself out of where his mind was taking him. But he was also concerned about Poe, wondering what he and Kylo had spoken about when he’d left them alone together. Kylo’s face flashed in his mind and a tinge of anger flooded his veins.

Poe rolled his eyes, patting his friend lovingly. “Aw c’mon, just for today. I think we both need a little bit of a break.”

Finn couldn’t argue with that.

\---

Rey was surprised by how comfortable she felt sitting in Mr. Skywalker’s car. He seemed a bit aloof but generally kind, humming along to 80s rock music that blasted out of his car’s old stereo system. He had barely spoken a word after asking Rey for her address, then checking to see if she was okay with his choice in music. Rey didn’t mind, she rather enjoyed the older man’s company at this moment, wondering to herself how someone like him could ever be related to Kylo Ren.

His car was an old beater, but it seemed well loved and cared for. Fast food bags and wrinkled clothes littered the backseat of the car. He didn’t appear to be fond of cellphones or digitized music, instead preferring to keep a huge crate of CDs on the backseat floor. He was jamming along to Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield without much of a care in the world. 

Rey chuckled. “You must really like music. Do you play any instruments?” 

Mr. Skywalker seemed taken aback that she’d chosen to spoken, his shoulders stiffening. “Uh, yeah. Guitar.” he sniffed, his eyes glazing over.

Rey smiled. “That’s cool. You teach at Organa, right?”  
He nodded, cocking an eyebrow as he let out a breathy, “Yup.”

From his expression, Rey wondered if this subject made him uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure why. She tried to think of how to change the subject, musing for a moment until his voice interrupted her thoughts and the care pulled to a stop.

“This is it, right?” he asked, pointing out the window. Rey nodded.

“Thanks, Mr. Skywalker.” Rey said, as she hopped out of his car. The song still hadn’t ended, although he’d turned it down once they’d reached her house. She was hoping she hadn’t bothered him too much.

The middle aged teacher just smiled, and any fear Rey had of burdening him dissipated. “If you have any issues with Ben again, just come find my office. I’ll sort him out for you.”

“I’ll do that,” Rey smiled back. She felt relieved to know at least one of her new teachers would be helpful. “Thanks again.”

As she walked inside after saying goodbye to Mr. Skywalker, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. There was a message from Rose asking if she was okay, and another from Finn wondering if she had made it home alright and that if she was too tired they could talk tomorrow. Rey would’ve felt relieved by those two messages, but the phone almost slipped from her hand at the message that had alerted her.

It was from Kylo.

Rey gritted her teeth, not yet ready to talk to him again. She felt confused. 

“Well, it’s not like you really know me anyway.”

For some reason she hadn’t been able to stop thinking of how Kylo had said those words to her, or the hurt in his tone of voice. She knew that he was the last person she should be feeling any sort of empathy for, but found herself unable to wonder more about the troubled boy. She thought of his uncle, their teacher, the man who had called him by a different name than the one Rey knew him by. Ben. She thought about the mansion and how she had noticed a name outside of the front gates, pressed into a gold plate. It was a different name than the one Kylo went by, and it wasn’t the same as Mr. Skywalker’s. She tried to remember the name, thinking it was oddly familiar.

Rey collapsed onto her bed once inside, her mind half spinning as she remembered she needed to pack before the weekend. Her foster mother knocked lightly on the door, asking if she wanted any dinner. Rey told her she would eat later, trying to hide her wounded foot from her view. She wondered if the school would tell her about what happened today.

\---

The next day at school went much differently than Rey had imagined. It was as if everything that had occurred the day before had been forgotten, her classmates barely paying her much mind. In fact, Rey suddenly felt invisible instead.

Her locker was clean by the time she had limped her way towards it, her textbooks and notebooks having been replaced by new ones. There was a new lock, and someone had stuck a note onto the back of it with the locker combination. Rey winced when she first opened the door after trying it out, but was surprised to see that everything was in impeccable order. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching who might have done this for her, but everyone was moving around her like she didn’t exist.

When she closed the locker door, Rose was standing beside her, a relieved smile on her face. She looked like she hadn’t slept well. She plopped a new pair of shoes into Rey’s hands. “I thought you could use these. They’re your size, right?”

Rey wasn’t used to being gifted anything, and marveled at the shoes. “Yeah, they are. Thanks, Rose.”

The other girl shuffled her feet, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry… about yesterday, Rey. Rey, it wasn’t… it wasn’t me who put the tack in your shoe.” Rose stared worriedly at Rey’s foot.

She gave the girl an affectionate pat on the shoulder. “I know,” she said, her smile twinkling as Rose met her gaze. “Did you also clean my locker, too?”

Rose cocked her head to the side as Rey showed her what she meant. “It wasn’t me, I was going to try before school started but someone else had beat me to it.”

“Huh,” Rey crossed her arms, thinking. She knew it couldn’t have been Finn or Poe. There were only three other people who came to mind who might have done this.

Rey’s gaze met with the tall red haired boy she’d met yesterday as he strutted down the hall at that moment, his hands shoved into the pockets of his blazer as a backpack loosely dangled off of one shoulder. He didn’t stop to say hello, merely nodded in her direction. Rey could hear Rose scoff from behind her, turning to see the girl glaring at Hux with her mouth slightly agape, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Since when do you know Hux?” Rose asked, her eyes still following Hux until he’d disappeared down the hallway. “He never talks to anyone except Kylo Ren.”

Rey shrugged. “He helped me yesterday… kinda.”

“Helped you?” Rose raised both her eyebrows now, blinking rapidly. “Hux helped you… kinda? Why?”

Rey scratched at her head and gave another shrug belatedly. “Something about us both hating Kylo Ren. I’m not sure. I don’t know how he found me either.”

Rose seemed to want to press Rey for more but the bell for class began to ring. “Shit, I’ll talk to you later, Rey. What class do you have now?” Rose asked.

“Chemistry,” Rey frowned. She had never been quite good at chemistry. She was a bit surprised to find it was still a mandatory subject at a performing arts high school. “I better go before I’m late.”

It took Rey a little longer than she’d expected to find the chemistry department, as she quietly snuck in the backdoor. Most of the desk were already filled except for one at the very back of the room, much to her chagrin. Rey gleefully darted for the empty seat, noticing the teacher was in the middle of role call. She felt relieved when she realized her name had yet to be called.

“Rey Ramsey?” the teacher asked, coughing into his hand after he’d said her name. He wasn’t even looking up.

“Here!” Rey chimed, startling the poor man. A few students turned to look at her, including the person she’d chosen to sit beside.

The teacher cleared his throat and continued, placing a checkmark by her name. “Kylo Ren?”

“Here.” boomed a deep voice from beside Rey. Her heart immediately sunk and turned to ice as she slowly turned to meet the cold reluctant gaze of Kylo, who watched her as he spoke. His hair was disheveled as he raked a hand through it, turning his eyes back to his notebook after acknowledging Rey’s presence. A sense of gloom radiated from him, and Rey noted the dark circles underneath his eyes.

The teacher appeared to take note that the two of them were sitting beside one another, his lips pursing into a straight line. Rey’s head was swimming. Out of anyone in the entire school, why did she have to accidentally sit beside Kylo Ren?

As the teacher began to lecture, going over the syllabus with the students, Rey stared blankly down at her desk. Only when Kylo whispered to her did she come back to reality, his eyes focused intently on his notebook as he made notes on whatever the teacher had been talking about.

“Did you read my message?” Kylo asked, his voice oddly soft in this tone. Rey wondered if he had actually spoken at all from the way he continued to write without looking up, his free hand cradling his face. Rey couldn’t make out his face from the way his raven hair spilled over his eyes from this angle besides his prominent nose and the outline of his parted lips.

Rey bit her lip, taking out her own notebook and copying Kylo’s actions. “What message?” she lied.

Kylo shifted in his chair slightly, but continued what he was doing. “I sent you a message. Did you read it?” he asked again, now more demanding. 

Rey tapped her chin thoughtfully with the end of her pen and shrugged. “No, no I didn’t. Why should I read messages from you anyway?”

She could feel Kylo begin to scowl, almost ripping his gaze from his notebook to glare at her. Instead he stopped to collect himself for a moment, the black ink from the tip of his pen accidentally dripping onto the page as he absently pressed it loosely against it.

The boy said nothing more for the rest of the class. Rey could feel her heart racing, trying to ignore it. She vowed that she would never sit beside him again, until her teacher told the class something that shattered any hope of her being able to do that.

“The person you are sitting beside will be your chemistry partner for the rest of the term.”

Some students groaned but most seemed content. A few glanced at Kylo Ren and Rey as students began to file out of the classroom when the bell rang. Rey could hear them whisper her name. But no one approached them. Rey had to sink back into her seat for a moment as a headache arose from the knowledge she couldn’t just avoid Kylo for the rest of the year. Kylo Ren quietly began to pack up his belongings without a word. He didn’t so much as look at Rey, who was staring absentmindedly up at him as he towered over her to leave, tossing a scrap of paper at her lap.

Rey nearly jumped. Her face paled as she gingerly picked up the note he’d left her, watching as he sauntered out the same door she had entered. She held her breath as she unfolded the little piece of paper, squinting at what Kylo had written her in his strangely dainty handwriting. The handwriting looked familiar.

“Meet me after school.” Kylo had written. Rey glanced back at the door but he was long gone, before shoving the paper in between her textbook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to make notes on this chapter after I'd finished the last one, so some things I had wanted to write didn't make it into this one. Derp. 
> 
> I'm hoping to write Luke similarly to Jack Black's character in School of Rock. That's going to be fun.


	9. The Only Exception

“Do you think she’ll come?” Kylo was asking a rather strange looking animal skull, which Hux had recognized as a goat skull but wasn’t entirely sure where he had gotten one from. Hux was watching him out of the corner of his eye as the too-tall boy lay sprawled across the indigo chaise in their secret meeting room. He raised an eyebrow at Kylo as he sipped from a mug, his thumb absently scrolling along the screen of his phone.

“Who will come?” Hux asked in place of the goat skull. Kylo immediately glared at him and Hux turned away, his lips still on the edge of his mug.

“None of your damn business, Hux.” hissed Kylo, sitting upwards as his hair flew in awkward directions. When he looked like this, dressed all in black, Hux sometimes could mistake Kylo for a ghost from a horror movie. “I clearly wasn’t talking to you.”

Hux rolled his eyes and walked to the small kitchenette in the room. Kylo still hadn’t talked to him about yesterday, when he’d helped Rey. He hadn’t really spoken to him much since then at all. But Hux had heard about everything that happened, from their classmates and from listening in on Poe and Finn’s conversations in the cafeteria during lunch break. Both had ignored his texts about band practice. Hux felt mildly annoyed, knowing they had to practice for their upcoming show, and he wasn’t about to do that all alone with Kylo Ren. He hated the idea of meeting with their manager more...

“We should be, you know, preparing for this weekend. I don’t know what you have planned after school, Ren, but maybe we should contact Poe and Finn to practice-”

“Don’t want to.” Kylo muttered with a dramatic sigh, falling back against the chaise. He sighed again as he stroked the goat skull lovingly. Hux grimaced in repulsion.

“Where did you even get that thing?” Hux asked, as he washed out the mug. 

There was a knock at the door. No one knocked at their door, but one person. Hux immediately frowned as he dried his hands and came towards the side of the chaise, as Kylo sprung up once again, looking slightly less thrilled than Hux felt. 

“Oh, there you boys are!” said a friendly older man as he entered the room. “It’s been awhile.”

\---

Rey wasn’t sure what to do with the note Kylo had left her.

She’d spent most of the day staring at it, barely registering anything Finn or Rose had said to her during lunch. Kylo hadn’t specified a time or a place for them to meet, and he hadn’t texted her either. Rey wondered how he expected her to meet with him if he wasn’t going to bother setting any specifics. Towards the end of lunch hour, she could feel Finn waving his hands in front of her eyes.

“Rey? Reeey?”

“Huh?” Rey came to, not realizing she’d been chewing on the end of a straw the entirety of the break, the note hidden away in the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Finn was staring at her, worried as usual, as Rose glanced from him to her. Only Poe seemed to be contemplating something, as he chewed on the end of his own straw, staring at her. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

“I knew you should’ve taken the day off,” Finn shook his head. “Why did you even come to school today?”

Rey wondered why too. She knew she could give the excuse of classes having just started, but anyone would have understood if she’d taken the day off instead. Although she felt more invisible than she had yesterday, she could still hear her name being spoken by the students around her, as some stopped to glance at her. The few who chose to stare too long at her were glared at by Poe, baring his teeth slightly as he gnawed at the straw. It didn’t help that Rey was hanging out with either him or Finn, but Finn was adamant about not leaving her alone after what happened yesterday.   
“I’m fine,” Rey lied, her mind turning again to the note. “But something bad has happened.”

“What?” Rose and Finn asked at once. Poe was sucking at air through the straw.

Rey sighed, burying her head in her hands. “We have to be chemistry partners for the rest of term. I accidentally… sat beside him because I was late for class.” She could feel Rose was making a face at her, although she couldn’t see her expression. 

“Ben is really bad at chemistry,” Poe said to break the tension in the air, shrugging his shoulders. The three turned to look at him. “I’m pretty sure he’s retaking that class. Heard he punched the last teacher in the face because he did an experiment wrong and everyone laughed.”

“Oh great,” muttered Rey, her shoulders drooping lower. She’d barely met the guy but already a million different thoughts about him swirled in her head. She wondered how the boy who taunted her and punched a teacher in the face was the same boy who spoke to her yesterday, who let her see his vulnerable side even if it was just for a moment. “Just what I need.”

Both Finn and Poe’s phones buzzed in unison as they reached to check them. “Uh oh,” Poe said first, before Finn could let out a small groan. “Looks like Pappy is back from his business trip.”

“You have to go? But lunch is almost over.” Rose asked, glancing over at the clock on the wall. Both seemed less than thrilled by whoever had texted them. Rey wasn’t familiar with the name, but her mind was too lost to ask them who they were talking about.

“Band stuff,” Finn said, sighing. “Have fun during class.”

“Ciao,” Poe waved them goodbye. His gaze lingered on Rey a little longer than usual. He said nothing, skipping after Finn.

Now that the boys were gone, Rey could overhear the table behind them, as a student audibly scoffed. “Who does she think she is, hanging out with members of the First Order?” they whispered. Rey felt an awful churning in her stomach as the whispers continued.”

“Kylo Ren even stopped harassing her. He’s never done that for anyone before. I wonder what she offered him, that-”

“We should get going,” Rose said, grabbing her tray. She was already standing when she said this to Rey, glaring at the table behind them through the corner of her eye. Rey felt too embarrassed and enraged to stand, but nodded and followed Rose to the trash area. “Ignore them, they’re just jealous bitches,” Rose said to her, patting Rey on the shoulder. “The rumours will die off soon.”

Rey wasn’t too sure if that was true, but said nothing. She gave Rose a weak nod and a smile as they walked out of the cafeteria.

\---

Kylo still hadn’t texted her.

Rey wasn’t sure why she was waiting. The campus was so large, she thought there was no way for him to be able to find her. Yet she waited. The sky was a lovely pale blue, and the late afternoon breeze soothed Rey’s anxiety. She’d chosen a secretive area of the campus to sit and wait. It felt odd now, that she was in high school. That she was at this high school. Suddenly time seemed to move so slowly yet so quickly. 

Just as she began to contemplate sprawling out on the lawn to watch the sky, she felt a presence behind her. Rey moved entirely too quickly to catch who was behind her, but felt slight disappointment over who she saw sneering at her.

“Why are you here?” mumbled Hux, arms folded. He had his guitar case slung over his shoulder, his brow furrowed. He seemed a little on edge, more-so than Rey felt he normally was. Although she barely knew Hux, Rey had the impression that he was sort of like the human embodiment of a terrible headache.

“Why are you here?” Rey mocked him. She could hear him scoff as he sidled up beside her, plopping himself down on the bench. Rey squirmed to move away from him, glancing around to make sure that Kylo Ren didn’t see them. She wasn’t sure why that was even her first concern over being seen with Hux. She should feel more nervous about other students seeing them together.

“How’s your foot?” Hux asked, his eyes trailing downwards. Rey reflexively tried to hide the wound, wishing she could disappear at that moment. 

“It’s fine,” No thanks to you, Rey thought. She felt that was too rude to say to him, considering he did try to help her, whatever his intentions might have been. “But why are you here?”

Hux shrugged. “Just testing out something,” he murmured. Before Rey could ask him what he meant, he pretended to yawn and put an arm around her shoulder. Rey went rock solid at his touch, her eyes widening. She half contemplated breaking his arm right then and there.

“What are you doing-” she hissed at him, but Hux shushed her, holding her tighter. His expression remained unchanged. Rey could feel her cheeks flush red with embarrassment, unused to anyone casually touching her the way Hux was right now. But Hux’s face remained devoid of any sort of feeling, only breaking into an evil little grin when another presence came up behind them.

“Am I interrupting something?” Kylo asked the pair flatly. Rey paled, shoving Hux away at the speed of light. Hux made a strangled noise as he fell off the bench, blinking maddeningly up at her as she glared at him. She didn’t turn to face Kylo, unsure why she felt like she couldn’t meet his gaze. Hux scrambled to his feet but Kylo shoved him away next.

“How did you find me?” Rey asked him before Hux could speak. She tucked her hair behind her ear in a nervous habit, swiveling her body to face him. Kylo was coldly gazing down at her, but there was no feeling of detest behind his expression. If anything, he seemed annoyed, mostly at Hux. Rey could only guess why.

“Lucky guess,” murmured Kylo, but his voice grew softer as he spoke. “I’m sorry, I should have texted you. I would have… but our manager just came back from his trip and-”

“Took away his phone.” Hux was brushing himself off as he stood up once again. Rey thought he was kind of like a dandelion. Kylo frowned at him, as if to ask him why he hadn’t left yet. “Heard about Ren’s incident with you yesterday. He’d like to apologize to you personally on Ren’s behalf, if you would be gracious enough to meet with him.”

“Can you shut the fuck up?” Kylo spoke through gritted teeth, his words heated. Rey could make out the beginning of Hux’s tell-tale grin as he folded his hands behind his back, stepping away so that the larger boy wouldn’t be able to touch him. Kylo turned to Rey, “Sorry. But it’s true, our manager would like to meet with you… if that’s alright.”

Rey couldn’t think of a reason to reject the offer, scratching behind her ear. “Yeah, I guess so, since he wants to meet with me.” She limped when she stood up, Kylo reaching out a cautious arm for her to hold onto. Rey dismissed his offer, not wanting to lean on him in any way for him. 

“I’ll take you to meet him then,” Kylo said to her, his voice almost charming until he glared again at Hux, who still was there. “You haven’t left yet?”  
“I can go with you.” Hux grinned, but Kylo waved his fingers in front of his face in a shooeing gesture.

“He already told you to go practice some more for this weekend. You’re dismissed.” Kylo ordered Hux flatly, turning to Rey to make sure she was following. Hux watched as they walked away. “Hmph,” he said, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. “Interesting.”

When the pair were a decent amount away from Hux, Kylo’s shoulders settled. “I actually wanted to meet with you… for a different reason,” he said. Rey kept her eyes on the ground, watching her feet.

“What’s that?” she asked, not really wanting to know the answer but wanting to know a little more about him. Wanting even a smidgen of a reason to hate him again as much as she had barely twenty-four hours ago.

“To say I’m sorry,” Kylo said, his voice genuine. It caused Rey to look at him now and meet his gaze, unaware that he had been staring at her face the entire time. Kylo glanced away, the sudden eye contact affecting him in a bizarre way. “I wanted to apologize.”

The words felt stilted from Kylo Ren, but Rey could understand. It was probably the first time he’d ever actually attempted to apologize to anyone in his life. She gave out a little bit of a chuckle after he said this, taking Kylo aback. He stopped as she continued to walk. “What?” he asked her, his expression serious.

“Nothing, nothing,” Rey said, unable to hide her smile. Kylo felt something inside of him nearly explode as he stared at Rey’s face at that moment. It was like fireworks inside his chest were going off, his heart beating so loudly he was sure that everyone around them could hear it. Including Rey. But if she could hear his heart, she seemed unaware of it. Kylo felt the urge to grab her and hug her right then and there, only stopping himself when he had to question why he wanted that in the first place. A rush of jealousy overcame him when he remembered Hux’s arm around her shoulders. “Kylo?” she asked when he had barely moved. Kylo apologized under his breath as he ran to catch up with her, unable to take his eyes off of her as they walked.

In the distance, in one of the school buildings, someone was watching them. They frowned as their gaze remained mostly on Kylo. They bit their nails as they wondered what to do. “Kylo Ren,” they murmured his name, as if it was a spell. “What’s so special about that girl that you make that face at her?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a bit of a hot mess lol


End file.
